Considering a Mavic Air but have some questions.

[monchan]

Hi all,
I am a new member and am considering / leaning toward the Mavic Air. But have a few questions.

1st. Phone/ device. My phone as far as I can tell is not supported. I have an Asus zenfone go. it is running android 5.1.1
Does anyone have experience with getting unsupported phones to work.

2nd. If I need a different device (not a new one) Out of the supported devices would you recommend a phone or tab.
And which cheaper ones have a good rep for not losing the connection.

3rd. DJI care refresh, would you recommend it? how many of you have needed it. I don`t really know what it offers, the drone shops here are
all in Japanese. I just read about it elsewhere and will check it out shortly.

4th. Are they ( or drones in general) easy to maintain? I mean do you need to strip them down clean them or anything super time consuming.

5th. Would you recommend this drone to a noob? I mainly want too take photos and videos and want something with decent IQ. I Thought about the Spark as it is cheaper and most comparisons reviews on youtube say you might as well just go the MA. I am not that well off, and it will be hard for me to upgrade if I desire.

I had some other questions, but forgot them. ( I have to start writing things down before I forget. My 45 years is catching up on me)
I`ll ask them when I remember. But If any members can give me their 2 cents worth or other things to take into consideration
That would be a big help. Thanks.

 

[mjbok]

1st. Download the app. At least on iOS it won't download if it won't run. Performance is a different issue, but if you can get it on your device and the app will start your device will run it.

2nd. iPad or iPad mini. The extra real estate is great. If you look around you can get an iPad air for a smidge over 100 bucks. That's what I use for both my Spark and my Air. Note this will require you to get a tablet adapter, but I think it's worth it.

3rd. Depends. I bought it for my Spark and it was money never used. Didn't buy it for my air. If you have one incident it would be worth it. If this is your first drone I would strongly consider it.

4th. Yes. Unlike the RC devices of old, these are not meant to be user updated, fixed, and maintained.

5th. The Air (IMHO) is a little out of the noob price range just because you don't know if the hobby will stick. Honestly the Spark is good enough for 99% of people who are considering a non-toy drone, but are unsure. I understand that the rub is if you really like it you'll want to go to the air and it is a lot of money to have sitting doing nothing if you can't get back most of your Spark cost. The drawback with the Air as a first drone is it has so many features that you'll want to explore and the danger is doing that before you get used to flying. The other thing is the Air has been more finicky than the Spark for me. I've never had any issues with the Spark, where I've had calibration and magnetic interference issues with the Air.

As someone new to the hobby I offer the following advice. Go slow. Get used to flying period before getting fancy. Get a landing pad. Read as much as you possibly can. Don't try to go crazy distances until you're used to being in the air. The screen is great, but watch the drone first, the screen second. It is easy to lose where your actual drone is when you're paying attention to the screen. If you know where you're going to be flying plan out the pictures/video you want to get. Get those first and then use your remaining time for fun and other shots. Lastly don't take your battery to the limit. Don't believe the advertised flight times. Expect to get about 14 minutes from props on to back on the ground.

 

[rickw]

do a search

 

[FunN4Lo]

1st. Download the app. At least on iOS it won't download if it won't run. Performance is a different issue, but if you can get it on your device and the app will start your device will run it.

The advice above applies to iOS. That advice does NOT apply to Android. I am an android guy in all of life. But I fly with a iPad Mini3 after trying numerous android devices. I have not had good experiences with DJI "approved" android. Chances are slim and none that a non-approved device will work. You may load the app, but your flying experience might be beyond horrible. A bad place to start for a noob

I would agree with all of mjbok's other advice except for #5. The Air is an awesome device for a noob

 

[Congoblue]

The advice above applies to iOS. That advice does NOT apply to Android. I am an android guy in all of life. But I fly with a iPad Mini3 after trying numerous android devices. I have not had good experiences with DJI "approved" android. Chances are slim and none that a non-approved device will work.

I've had the opposite experience, used several "non-approved" Android devices and had no trouble. Was flying on an ancient Samsung Galaxy S4 for quite a while. There's plenty of devices which work but aren't on the list, you can't expect them to test every Android device out there.

I would try your Android device and see what happens. The usual problem is blocky or laggy video feed. You can always get something else if it doesn't work.

 

[monchan]

@mjbok Thanks for your super reply. Thanks FunN4Lo and Congoblue.

I had considered a spark, and hand it down to my son once he is confident and I feel I want to upgrade. By that time the MA might be cheaper?? How much do these things come down in price over a year or so? But the wife controls the money (she wears the pants too)
Seems different people have had different experience when it comes to devices. So I guess It wont hurt just to try what I have got. But I have started looking at used ipads.

 

[FunN4Lo]

@mjbok Thanks for your super reply. Thanks FunN4Lo and Congoblue.

I had considered a spark, and hand it down to my son once he is confident and I feel I want to upgrade. By that time the MA might be cheaper?? How much do these things come down in price over a year or so? But the wife controls the money (she wears the pants too)
Seems different people have had different experience when it comes to devices. So I guess It wont hurt just to try what I have got. But I have started looking at used ipads.

I fly with an iPad Mini2 and Mini3 (same exact device, the only difference is the 3 has a finger print sensor... who cares) II got them for $125 at different pawn shops. Check a few of those, and eBay or Craigslist. You can probably find a bargain that will be approved by the boss

 

[Sfusiondj]

+1 for iPad Mini 4. I switched over from my iPhone 6s and haven't looked back. iPhone battery would plummet from 100% to 20% over the course of a single flight. 20 minutes of flight time will barely put a dent in the iPad. And the bigger screen gives a much more immersive experience.

As for maintenance - ZERO. Unless changing props about once a year counts. I'm super impressed by the durability of this drone. See my thread here, for an explanation: https://mavicpilots.com/threads/mavic-air-survives-ten-story-fall.56163/

 

[mjbok]

@mjbok Thanks for your super reply. Thanks FunN4Lo and Congoblue.

I had considered a spark, and hand it down to my son once he is confident and I feel I want to upgrade. By that time the MA might be cheaper?? How much do these things come down in price over a year or so? But the wife controls the money (she wears the pants too)
Seems different people have had different experience when it comes to devices. So I guess It wont hurt just to try what I have got. But I have started looking at used ipads.

The Air is just about a year old. When it came out the fly more was 1000 bucks. You can pretty regularly get it for about 800 now. I wouldn't expect it to dip much lower than that regularly (great deals do pop every now and then) until an Air 2 is announced.

There are a ton of threads about it, but I would suggest the following non-standard things (in this order) to complete your setup.

1. Bag with custom insert. You can get these on eBay for about 20 bucks shipped.
2. Landing pad - This is more for taking off than landing, but it makes it a ton easier and safer (for your drone) to just be able to drop it down and take off. You can land anywhere, but you shouldn't take off from metal, concrete, etc.
3. Tablet and tablet holder. The holder you can get for about 20 bucks, the tablet depends on what you get. I recommend the tablet because the extra screen real estate really helps.
4. Leg extensions. Even with the landing pad I like having the leg extensions. The don't raise it up much, but just enough.

 

[NAVMAV]

First, get a Mavic Air. And, try it with your phone.

After you tire squinting at, or punching tiny little Icons, pull off the phone and opt for an I-Pad Mini (we use a 4). You will be a contented Camper - possibly for Life.

After that all you do is fight The Urge to bump to a Mavic Pro or bigger.

DON'T do it. It takes nearly a Year to run out of possibilities in the Air's options, and unless you want to jack your Bird's cost over $1000 PLUS, resist The Urge.

We've done exactly that for over nine months - albeit in Winter Conditions.~

Rgds, NAVMAV

 

[monchan]

I fly with an iPad Mini2 and Mini3 (same exact device, the only difference is the 3 has a finger print sensor... who cares) II got them for $125 at different pawn shops. Check a few of those, and eBay or Craigslist. You can probably find a bargain that will be approved by the boss

I was just looking at the Mavic Air specs page.
DJI Mavic Air – Specs, Tutorials & Guides – DJI

Down the bottom at the App/ live view
It has Ipad mini 4 listed but the mini 2 or mini3. Does that mean they work but not officially supported?
Or is that not the right list for supported devices?

But seems like I`ll be looking for a mini4.

Thanks, all great posts.